There are daily reports in the mainstream media on developments at the southern border, including the conditions in which children are being detained, the President’s threats of mass deportations, later postponed, negotiations in Congress on a funding package for humanitarian aid at the border, and protests against companies like Wayfair and Bank of America for doing business with centers where immigrant children are detained. And of course, the southern border has felt much closer to Maine in recent weeks given the recent arrival in Portland of asylum seekers predominantly from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Here are a few items from June that you might have missed:
- On Detaining Immigrant Children
“You need to know what I saw” – Blog by Immigration Law Professor Bill Ong Hing, on an official monitoring visit under the Flores v. Reno lawsuit settlement in which the government agreed to standards governing detention of children. June 27, 2019.
“Geronimo and the Japanese were imprisoned there. Now Fort Sill will hold migrant children again, sparking protests“, Washington Post, June 23, 2019.
“Trump administration still separating hundreds of migrant children at the border through often questionable claims of danger“, detailing a case of a 4 year old separated for months from her father, Houston Chronicle, June 22, 2019.
“Trump administration cancels English classes, soccer, legal aid for unaccompanied child migrants in U.S. shelters“, Washington Post, June 7, 2019.
- On Legal Challenges to the Administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocol” (MPP) Policy that Forces Non-Mexican Asylum Seekers to Wait in Mexico.
Amicus (“Friend of the Court”) legal brief filed on June 26, 2019 by the Union representing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Asylum Officers supporting the Plaintiff’s challenge that the MPP is a violation of U.S. and International Law.
“Few migrants seeking U.S. asylum successfully claim fear of waiting in Mexico“, finding that only about 1% of Central American asylum seekers have not been pushed back into Mexico since the MPP policy began, Reuters, June 28, 2019.
- Office of Inspector General Reports on Immigration Detention Conditions
“Management Alert -DHS Needs to Address Dangerous Overcrowding Among Single Adults at El Paso Del Norte Processing Center “(Redacted), report following unannounced spot inspections to five Customs and Border Protection holding facilities, that found dangerous overcrowding and immigrants being held for far longer than legal limits allow, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, May 30, 2019.
“Concerns about Detainee Treatment and Care at Four Detention Facilities“, report following unannounced spot inspections to four detention facilities holding ICE detainees (who are in civil, not criminal, detention) finding serious, and some egregious, violations of ICE detention standards, Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, June 3, 2019.